Never underestimate the power of a good “Ahh”

Perhaps you noticed. Nowadays, people buy stuff online.

The moment your package arrives represents the first time that your customer and product meet face-to-face. Until then, your product was only an image on a monitor. This is your chance to make a great first impression. To make your customer think, “I purchased wisely and well.”

Or not.

I’ll get to the “or not” part. First let’s look at an example of how to get it right.

The folks at Levenger are great at presentation. I recently ordered one of their leather padfolios made for an iPad. On the right is a photo of the “Ahh”-inspiring sight that greeted me inside the corrugated shipping box. I had expected peanuts or bubble wrap with the padfolio buried inside. Instead, I found this attractive box. (I kept it. Too nice to chuck.) It made me think that the product inside must really be something. Good thing. The padfolio wasn’t cheap, and I’d begun to wonder if I’d been frivolous and should return it.

Inside the attractive box, another “ahh” awaited me. When I removed the elastic and the lid, I was greeted not by my padfolio, but by what it was wrapped in: a Levenger branded lens cloth measuring a generous 12 by 24 inches. Their website hadn’t told me I’d be getting that. In the industry, we call including such extras a “surprise and delight” strategy. It cost Levenger next to nothing. I mean, come on, it’s two square feet of cloth. But it made a big impression nonetheless. Surprised and delighted I was.

At last I found my way to the padfolio nestled inside the cloth. The smell of leather wafted out. That’s it at bottom right. By this time, my thoughts of returning the product had vanished. Levenger had wrapped and presented it like it was a work of art. No way was I going to part with it.

Now, for the promised example of how not to get it right.

As I said, the padfolio wasn’t cheap. But its cost was nowhere near that of the Old Town canoe I ordered online at about the same time. Yet that considerably more expensive product came off the truck ... in a dingy plastic bag. The plastic bag had a couple of holes in it. No attractive packaging. No surprise. No delight. Worse, the canoe arrived damaged. I sent it back, only to receive a replacement in no better shape. Concerned about Old Town quality, I canceled and bought a competitor’s canoe. But here’s the funny thing. Had Old Town packaged the canoe with Levenger-esque flair, chances are that I would have had no doubts about quality and blamed the damage on the common carrier.

Another episode in my continuing crusade against dishonest sales approaches

“Hello, Mr. Cuno. I’m calling to update your free directory listing.”

Golly. These days it sure seems like a lot of “publishers” want to “verify information” for a “free listing” in a directory I never heard of much less asked to be in. But this caller is refreshingly personable, so I decide to play nice.

She confirms my company name, address, and phone number. That last one always amuses me. You would think the number was verified the moment I picked up and said, “RESPONSE Agency, Steve Cuno.”

“OK,” I say, “truth time. Is there a directory, or is that a subterfuge for generating warm leads for Comcast?”

She replies, resignation in her voice, “The latter.” I am impressed. For one thing, once she was cornered she didn’t try to weasel. For another, she knew “latter” from “former” without pausing to work it out.

I say, “I consider this to be flagrantly dishonest. Kindly tell your management I said so.” She says she will. I’d be surprised, but of course I’ll never know.

“Hang on,” I say. “Please remove me from your list.” She says she can’t do that, but can give me a number to reach someone who can. I believe federal law requires that she be able to handle my request herself, but I’m not positive, so I let it go. Instead I say, “One last thing. I recommend you leave this company and find an ethical employer because you sound like a very nice person.”

She thanks me, most likely grateful to be able to hang up.

If anyone from Comcast is reading, I suggest you audit the methods of third parties you retain to make prospecting calls. You don’t need people repping you using deception.